GVSU - Women's XC Wins National Championship for Third Time in Four Years

by RunMichigan Staff, Nov. 23, 2013

Provided by GVSU

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Grand Valley State cross country teams had a banner day at the 2013 NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championship, as the women's team claimed the third national title in the last four years and the men's team finished in second, the best mark in program history.

The women's team dominated the field, tallying only 54 points to easily outdistance second place Adams State, who recorded 91 points. Third went to Western State with 194 points.

The Laker women put six runners in the top 40 to earn All-American honors, led by Allyson Winchester, who put together her third straight All-American performance of her career, finishing third with a time of 21:05.7, but was the first runner to finish who was scored, earning the coveted one point towards the team score.

She was trailed shortly after by Jessica Janecke, who finished ninth with a time of 21:18.2 and recorded six points towards the team total.

Kendra Foley was the third-highest finishing freshman, as she crossed the line in 11th with a time of 21:21.5, good for eight points.

Courtney Brewis finished 17th with a time of 21:32.0 to earn 14 team points, and the final scored runner was Hannah Osborn, who crossed in 31st with a time of 21:42.0 and 25 team points.

Though she was not part of the team total, Jordan Chester earned All-American honors as well with a 40th-place finish in a time of 21:48.9. Also running was Madie Rodts, who finished 48th in a time of 22:00.0.

The men's team put together a historic performance for GVSU athletics, recording its highest team finish in school history. Coming in to the meet ranked third in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings behind the heavily-favorited Adams State and Western State, the Lakers tallied a runner-up performance with 104 points. Adams State won the team title with 54 points, while Augustana was third with 122 points.

The Lakers had four runners tally All-American honors, as the top four finished inside the top 26 of the individual results.

Leading the way for GVSU was Brent Showerman, who finished 14th with a time of 30:46.2 to record 11 team points. Running nearly step-for-step with him was Alan Peterson, who crossed in 16th with a time of 30:56.4 to record 13 team points.

Also running together were Chad Cini, who finished 22nd (30:59.9) to earn 17 points, and Josh Moskalewski, who crossed the line in 26th with a time of 31:03.9 to tally 20 points.

The final scored runner was Kyle Flores, as he recorded a 52nd-place finish in a time of 31:31.2 and tallied 43 points towards the team score.

The final two runners, who were not scored, were Chris May in 56th (31:35.2) and Larry Julson in 66th (31:44.5).

The USTFCCCA will be announcing the national award recipients this week and all honors will be posted here on gvsulakers.com when they become available.